Through Treacherous Waters
by toraffles
Summary: There is a certain security in ignorance. Under the stringent efforts of Supernova Trafalgar Law, Haruno Sakura has been kept very safe, and very ignorant. Until she meets a man with a jolly roger... and then everything changes. Saku-centric, SakuMulti. Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

_**7:33 AM**_

Trafalgar Law reached for his mug, taking a long draught of the bitter liquid within. He pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth at the unpleasant tepidity but nonetheless drained it down to the dregs. As he replaced the mug to its original position, he watched the trembling of his hand with detached interest.

It was his eighth cup of coffee in as many hours, and the strain was already affecting his body. His thoughts raced as though on fast forward, formulae flashing through his mind, an infinity of possible compounds, experimental laboratory procedures just begging to be written down.

Just a little bit more and he would be finished. Just a little more and he could collect the money, and he would be - well, free certainly wasn't the word. But he would be unchained, and that was one step closer.

He heard the front door of his apartment opening with a whine of unoiled hinges. Thin plastic bags rustled in the kitchen and a familiar voice called, "Law?"

"In here," he replied, not bothering to raise his voice. He stared at the spindly letters and numbers and equations sprawled across the mass of papers in front of him, his quivering pupils morphing them into little black spiders, crawling across the page.

He was so close, _so close_, just this_ one thing_...

There was a soft sound and light footsteps approached the dim room, illuminated only by the azure glow of his laptop screen. His bedroom door cracked open, and there stood Haruno Sakura, his... childhood friend, he supposed the term was. The light streaming from the hallway window gave her hair a copper burnish, and the edges of his lips tilted downward at the sight.

(He liked the colour red, quite honestly. He loved the sheen of it, on the table, on his fingers, on his scalpels...

But not on her. Never on her.)

"Geez, I'm not even surprised," she sighed, taking in the mess that was his room, and then the mess that was him, slumped in his large black chair.

He hummed in response, furiously clicking the pen in his hand as he pondered over this last conundrum.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Not unless you have a master's degree in biochemistry," he told her blankly.

"Yeah, yeah, 'lowly high school student', 'back off', I get it. Have you eaten yet?"

He shook his head, casting his chaotic hair into further disarray.

"Thought so. You know, you... you should take the day off from school."

"Can't."

"Is there something important today? A project, or a test?"

"No. But I'm fine, I've handled worse. I can deal."

"If you say so… How's onigiri sound? I'll make you some tea, too."

"Fine. Earl gray."

"Mm-hm."

* * *

_**7:48 AM**_

When Sakura returned, she was laden with a plate of mentaiko onigiri wrapped in dried seaweed, a steaming cup of tea, and a smile.

"Your favourite," she said, placing her burdens on top of what she appropriated to be unimportant rough work.

He grabbed a ball of rice and gave her a twitch of a smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She watched him work for a few minutes, noting that his hand was only kept steady enough to write by sheer force of will, and even then, his letters were more illegible than usual. He would write out an entire reaction, stare at it for a moment, and then cross it out furiously, only to start again with different compounds.

When he finally paused to take a sip of the tea she asked, "What are you looking for?"

"I need a neutralising agent for this final procedure, but nothing's working." He sighed and took another sip. Sakura vaguely wondered if he realised that the trembling of his muscles was beginning to calm.

"I see... And you still won't tell me what this is for?"

"Told you Sakura, I can't."

"Yeah, I know. When do you have to finish by, then?"

"About an hour after my classes. So I won't be picking you up today."

Sakura stared at the digital clock across the room as Law choked down another onigiri. He had three classes today and the workshop. That was five hours, and including the thirty minute break between math and the workshop, and then the hour long break between chemistry and physics, he would be at the university for six and a half hours. Classes began at nine for him, so that meant he had to be finished this thing by four-thirty.

It was nearly eight right now, which gave her seventeen minutes to write three quick emails - the workshop was a pass or fail course and Law had dutifully attended all the classes, so that one could be ignored - and Law had seven and a half hours before she would come and wake him up. Surely he could finish up this last part in an hour. Luckily he had said there was nothing important going on in his classes today, so this could be done without guilt.

"Alright," Sakura said, turning to Law. "Finish up that onigiri - no, you can't have the last two, you'll be knocked out too long - and drink up that tea, I have to get going soon."

He blinked drowsily and obeyed, to her delight. Normally Law absolutely despised being ordered about, but when he was sleepy he tended to be very compliant to her directives. She wasn't sure as to the reason why, but it was useful nonetheless.

"Let's get you on to that bed." After a thoughtful pause she added, "And don't kill me when you wake up." She was pretty sure this docility wouldn't carry over when he became alert again but it was worth a try.

Law shuffled over to the bed and allowed her to tuck him in, his dark eyes slowly slipping shut, the shadowed smudges under his eyes made even more pronounced by the addition of his smoky lashes.

She wistfully thought of their shared childhood, when he'd at least grudgingly allowed her to play mother hen despite being two years younger; nowadays, he just waved her off and told her, in the most condescending voice possible, to 'stop nagging me you little brat'.

Sakura pouted at his sleeping form before making her way to his laptop and cracking her knuckles. She had three emails to write to three different professors and she'd have to finish them in just under sixteen minutes.

* * *

_**8:09 AM**_

Sakura finished the last email with three minutes to spare. She had had to find the names of Law's professors and their contact information with only the memories of offhand comments to guide her, but the job was done, Law was fed and watered - and drugged, but that was a minor detail - and now she could go to school. Out of curiousity Sakura peeked at the paper directly in front of her, wondering what it was that had given Law such a hard time.

When she saw it, she couldn't help but to laugh in surprise. It seemed that after so many years of going above and beyond his peers Law had forgotten the easy stuff. While she wasn't a prodigy like her friend, she was still studying to be a pharmacist. She could at least do this much.

Sakura scribbled a series of reactions on a clean piece of paper and circled the two end products several times so Law wouldn't miss it. She then gathered up the arrangement of cups into a precarious tower on the single plate and took the wobbling mass to Law's kitchen, safely depositing the tableware in the sink and tossing out the remaining rice balls so Law wouldn't accidently eat the things and fall asleep again. Reaching under plastic wrap, she grabbed a rice ball from the plate she'd left on the table.

The rosette then realised that her intellectual detour had made her late and ran out in a frenzy, hand just barely snatching up her book bag on the way.

* * *

_**8:19 AM**_

"Wait! Hold the door!" Sakura's breaths came in quick pants as she sprinted towards the train, the sight of the closing doors filling her with panic. If she missed this one she'd definitely be late for school, and the head of the Disciplinary Committee would definitely punish her for it.

Rob Lucci-senpai was usually quite pleasant, if a little distant, but his personality underwent a complete one-eighty when he caught someone breaking the rules. Then he was absolutely terrifying, like a leopard ready to strike, sometimes even sending offenders to the ER if they refused to listen. She'd never broken the rules in front of him before so her relationship with him remained cordial: Sakura always made it a point to bow and greet him whenever she saw him. But she'd seen his violent nature firsthand near the start of her first year when a delinquent from Rakuen invaded her classroom in the middle of history and started mucking around, refusing to leave the premises when asked nicely. The president had come and beat the boy into the ground with a vicious grin, thus sparking her almost religious ritual of greeting him every morning when she saw him at the gates and by chance in the halls, armed with the vague hope that he'd spare her life for being polite when the time came. That was how terrifying the sight had been.

So it was with devastated eyes and quickening breaths that she watched the train doors sliding shut.

_I'll get a black mark in my student record - I'll be transfered into Impel Down - I'll be beaten to death by Rob-senpai - I'll be -_

A black, polished shoe slipped out and inserted itself between the closing doors, stopping them just before they sealed together. A horrific buzzing noise filled the air as the doors slid open again, making Sakura wince and falter in her steps.

"Get on," said a quiet baritone, cutting straight through the racket. Sakura shook off her shock and rushed towards the vehicle, dashing in before the doors could close a second time.

As the bullet train began to speed along the rails, the rosette doubled over and braced her hands against her knees, gasping for breath; she was _not_ a runner, not by any sense of the word.

"Th-thank... you...!" she wheezed. When she saw a shift from the corner of her eye, Sakura finally managed to straighten and peer up at her saviour, who nodded at her in acknowledgment. The movement had been him crossing his arms and leaning back against the closed door.

Long blond hair - longer than her own - fell past the man's waist in messy spikes. A white and blue striped cough mask hid the lower half of his face, while the rest of it was obscured by his thick fringe. He was lean, very tall, and rather well-built if the bared skin under his unbuttoned collar was any indication.

Sakura blinked in surprise at the guy's clothes. The steel coloured tie had been discarded elsewhere and the white dress shirt had been traded in for a black one with polka dots, but without a doubt that was the uniform for the Rakuen sector of the Grand Line.

She studiously ignored his blatant violation of the school uniform policy as she grinned at him. "You go to Paradise? We'll be getting off the same stop, then."

He stared down at her, appraising her slim aquamarine blazer, her plaid navy blue skirt, the golden finishes on her uniform. Or that was what it seemed like, though she couldn't see his eyes to be sure. "You an Enies Lobby?"

"Yup!"

"You sure you want to be talking to me?"

She gave him a curious look. "Why wouldn't I?"

He uncrossed his arms and flipped up the left lapel of his dark blazer to reveal a highly modified version of the Grand Line Senior Academy emblem over his breast, stitched over the original badge.

Sakura gave a small, startled gasp. "A pirate!" In other words, a member of an organized delinquent gang. But then she blinked and squinted at him suspiciously. "Shouldn't you be more... I don't know... bloodthirsty?"

"Don't feel like it," he told her, returning to his preciously casual stance.

"Oh. Um... well... there's not exactly a rule against talking to you, so it shouldn't be a problem." She allowed herself to relax as well. "I think you're the first pirate I've ever talked to. You - you're pretty nice, actually."

"Naïve."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The rosette glared at the general direction of his eyes, but he didn't answer her. She grudgingly let it pass.

"Anyways... I guess a formal introduction wouldn't hurt." She gave him a slight bow of her head. "I'm Haruno Sakura, second year at Enies Lobby. Nice to meet you."

The man did not speak until a few minutes later, when the train finally reached their stop.

"... Killer. Third year. Likewise."

* * *

_**8:32 AM**_

Despite her best efforts, Sakura only found herself arriving at the gates a full two minutes after the morning bell had rung. Rob Lucci was sometimes known to turn away students who were even a second late so it was with a heavy heart and wide, nervous eyes that she approached the lone sentinel at the front entrance.

"Rob-senpai, g-good morning..."

The Disciplinary Committee president turned towards her with cold, dark eyes and an intense scowl. Sakura immediately lost all of her nerve.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She bowed deeply, the angle of her bend so steep that her plaits nearly touched the ground. Her hands clutched at her skirt. "I won't make excuses! I know I'm late! I should have been here ten minutes ago! I'm so sorry, senpai!"

_Please don't murder me!_ she thought loudly, though she didn't dare say it aloud.

Seconds passed, and the continued silence made Sakura peer up through her bangs in confusion. Rob Lucci-senpai was still frowning but the icy violence in his eyes had abated.

"P-pardon...?"

There was a sigh and Rob Lucci inclined his head towards the school. "Go."

The second year hesitantly straightened up. "Rob-senpai?"

"Before I change my mind."

Realizing what he was doing, a brilliant smile bloomed on Sakura's face. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Hurry up."

She wasted no more time and flew through the open gateway, her two braids streaming behind her as she ran.

* * *

_**11:06 AM**_

Sakura squeaked loudly as her side collided with something broad, warm and very solid. She fell over from the impact, the stack of textbooks in her arms thudding to the ground.

"Ow..." The rosette scrunched her nose and glared up at the perpetrator, only to blink in surprise at the sight of a large hand in front of her face.

"Sorry. You okay?" asked a low, gravelly voice.

"Ah, Smoker-kaichō!" She grabbed onto the hand and let the third year pull her up with his considerable strength. "I was looking for you!"

He growled in displeasure. "Damn. So it was _you_."

"What do you mean, 'damn'?!"

"You and that Tashigi always hound me down wherever I go. It's a nuisance."

Despite his words, he still bent down to help her gather the fallen objects, collecting most of them before she could. When he stood back up, the majority of the books were in his hands.

She tsked at him and put her free fist to her hip. "If you would just do your job in the first place, Tashigi-chan and I wouldn't have to run all around the school looking for you. I'm the treasurer, not your keeper."

After a brief moment when Sakura tried and failed to glare him into returning her burdens back to her, she gave up and made her way back to the student council office. Used to her nagging, Smoker just grunted and followed.

"Crap, I was going to chase down a pirate today."

"Kaichō! You're the school president, not the disciplinary committee! Skipping meetings is not allowed! Have some responsibility!"

"It's not like I wanted the job," he grumbled. "That bastard Hina... don't even know how she got me on that stage. I still can't see why I won."

"... It was your speech, I think." Reluctantly, she added, "You're really good at those."

"Whatever." The pair reached their destination and Sakura grasped the doorknob before the student council president could attempt to kick it open and broke the door yet again. "Let's just get this over with."

When Sakura and Smoker walked through the entrance, Tashigi jumped to her feet. "You found him!"

"That was much faster than I thought," remarked a first year with long, braided pink hair.

There was a chuckle from the third year representative, seated cross-legged on a collection of spare desks in a corner. He tipped back the edge of his top hat and peered out with a grin. "Why do you think Hina sent her?"

A blue haired girl looked up from the file in front of her and giggled at the commotion, while a similarly coloured third year, who was lazily lounging in his seat, remarked, "Nmaa... it seems that Sakura-kun is as reliable as ever."

"Hina did say it would work." The aforementioned vice-president sat straight-backed in her seat, her long hair falling over her shoulders as she glanced at the new arrivals. "If you blind Haruno and set her loose in the school, she always finds whoever she's looking for. It's a talent."

The youngest male in the room spoke up. "Was there a reason to make Sakura-senpai carry all those books, though? I don't mean to be disrespectful, but wouldn't a blindfold have been better?"

"Nah, it's fine Coby-kun. I think of it as training! Though kaichō did steal most of them in the end..."

Smoker strode over to the large round table in the center of the room and dropped the entire stack of textbooks with a loud bang.

"Now that you've got me here, don't waste my time. I'm starting the meeting. Tashigi, first order of business."

"Yes! The woodworking club has asked for an increase in budget for the third time this month..."

* * *

_**2:37 PM**_

Trafalgar Law did not wake with a gasp or a startle.

He merely opened his eyes, calmly checked his wristwatch, and assessed the situation.

Even if he left right now, his last class would be halfway done by the time he arrived; there was no point in going anyway, since he didn't need the notes. It wasn't like he wasn't years ahead of the curriculum.

Even so, that Sakura clearly had a death wish. Yes he felt more rested than he had in several weeks, but that did not mean she was at liberty to drug him whenever she liked. Not to mention the way she had so brazenly ordered him around.

He was going to _kill her_.

Law let out a subdued sigh as he slid his legs off the bed. Rubbing his unkempt stubble with one tattooed hand, the young adult lazily made his way to his desk. After this he would definitely have to shave; a hot shower wouldn't go amiss either.

Slouching into the soft leather of his office chair, Law rolled himself closer to his expansive desk. He grabbed a pen and prepared to immerse himself into a boiling pot of formulae, only to pause at the sight of a paper on top of his laptop.

That hadn't been there before.

Undoubtedly, it was more proof of Sakura's fussing. Already anticipating a series of notes scolding him to 'take better care of yourself!' or whatever, he only gave it cursory glance.

And then a second, when his eyes instinctually recognized that those lines weren't kana, but atomic symbols.

And then a third, when his preoccupied mind realised that yes, those were chemical reactions zigzagging across the page, and yes, that was Sakura's neat, rounded writing rather than his own spindly hand, and yes, that was a continuation of his research and not a forgotten homework assignment.

The girl knew better than to stick her nose in his work, so why...?

Law followed the processes detailed in curly looping letters with his eyes, a finger absentmindedly tracing circles around key parts. Each component was labeled clearly, not a single step skipped or taken for granted. She really didn't do things halfway, that Sakura.

The final products were circled several times.

'**HgCl **_and _**2-dimethylamino-2-methyl-1-propanol**'

Finding no errors, he leaned back and tapped his lower lip with his pen.

Simple. It wasn't the most efficient, but it would work, he'd give it that. In fact it may be preferable to something more efficient, since it would give the victim time to realize what was happening. Panicked screaming did so amuse Joker.

If it became necessary, he could substitute these compounds with the components for a faster acting agent once he figured out a better way to do this.

Electrolysis... The only reason he hadn't tried those types of reactions was because he didn't want to rely on Joker to get him the equipment when it came time to implement these procedures, wanted to minimize contact with the psychotic man. But really, it wasn't that big of a deal - he could easily 'borrow' some of the university's supplies if his chemistry professor was reluctant to give him access. He didn't necessarily need to contact Joker about this.

Law stood up and stretched. Looked like he had time for that hot shower. If he didn't waste time, he could give this to Vergo and be back in time to meet Sakura at her school.

He smirked.

It would be amusing to make her grovel in front of her classmates.

* * *

**AN**

*_mentaiko_: spicy cod roe.

*_Rakuen_: Paradise. (Details will be given later.)

*_kaichō_: chairman or president (of a society)

*_kana_: Japanese characters. Think of it as the Japanese alphabet.

The writing style in this chapter is mostly not indicative of my usual style. It's choppy and rushed and I'm not that proud of it, now that I look over it again, but it's already written, and I don't quite have the time to rewrite it. Maybe later.

Did Sakura just drug Law? Yes she did. :D

I've had this thing on my google docs since July, but I didn't want to post it without promise of follow through. Now though, I've pretty much given up hope on ever completing a story and am just posting this anyway. Originally, I wrote it to feature an OC named Enkai Suzume - usually called Suzu - but then two days ago I suddenly had the thought that, huh, this role would actually fit Sakura quite well. So I ended up replacing Suzu for Sakura, since I prefer not to use OCs when I don't need to. I don't think this is going to feature many other Naruto characters; I have specific roles in mind for two specific Naruto females, but as for the rest.. the others may or may not come up as I go, I guess? If I indeed do decide to continue this. I'm pretty sure all the other characters will be One Piece in origin though. For now, I'm just wondering if I should involve special abilities (like devil fruits) or not.


	2. Chapter 2

Vivi and Sakura entered the Student Council lounge, the air bubbling with their laughter. Sabo-senpai had been scolded by Tashigi near the end of the meeting yet again, mainly for his languid approach to discipline, but also because he'd doodled a dragon version of her breathing fire on his notebook.

Their giggles trailed off as a deep voice - familiar, unexpected, and highly dreaded - from further within the room suddenly called, "Sa-ku-ra."

Sakura froze. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned around.

To her horror, Trafalgar Law was lounging right in the center of the black sofa, his arms draped over the back and his legs spread out in front of him. He looked cheerfully murderous in that way that he had, where you just _knew_ he was happily imagining the various ways he could slaughter and maim you and then get away with it. Law was very much of the "_Don't get mad, get even_" school of thought, and it showed.

Vivi startled and frantically glanced back and forth between Law and Sakura before rushing out of the room.

"L-L-L-Law! You're up early...!" Sakura gave a nervous laugh that was quickly quelled by the widening of his grin.

"_Oh_? And when should I have been up, suishisha-ya?"

And Sakura winced because, oh god, it had begun, he would now systematically list all the ways she would be killed she was doomed he was going to kill her farewell world -

"I was going to - to go as soon as school ended and wake you..."

"Is that so, toushisha-ya?"

"Yes, yes, I promise!"

Law's dangerous smile grew larger and sharper, and his voice became low and soft.

Sakura whimpered.

"Then please inform me as to what made you think such an action was permissible in the first place, _shibito-san_."

"I just thought… since you were so tired…" Except, being the kind of person that he was, he wouldn't care how worried she had been over him, so she gave up on that as hopeless and resigned herself to groveling for her life. "Law! Please don't kill me! I won't ever do it again! So don't kill me!"

"Liar."

She flinched to hide a small grin, because they both knew that she was lying right through her teeth. She would do this again, and again, and again, if she thought he wasn't taking care of himself well enough. Truthfully, she was rather apprehensive of what Law had in mind as punishment - he was frightfully creative, this medical prodigy - but the healthier pallor of his skin made everything worth it.

"What's going on here?" demanded a considerably more welcomed voice, every word nearly a growl. Sakura twirled around to see Smoker standing tall in the doorway of the lounge, Vivi peering over his shoulder and giving Sakura what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, despite looking rather frightened herself.

Nevertheless, the rosette pounced on the interruption. "Smoker-kaichō! Save me before Law maims me," she cried, wriggling through the space between the president and the wooden frame. She ignored the raised brows of the two males in the room and the confused eyes of Vivi, preferring to concentrate on keeping a large shield between herself and Law when he was in this kind of mood.

And then the other white eyebrow rose when Smoker registered her words. Dark eyes narrowed on the slumped figure on the sectional sofa, several feet away. "Trafalgar Law," he greeted lowly.

"Yo, 'student council president'," Law replied, his voice mocking. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Smoker grunted in agreement, not rising to the bait. "What brings you here - and how did you break in? Clearly we need better security if any old rat can wander in so casually."

"My, Smoker-ya, I'm insulted. I may have graduated, but I'm not so old that I can't get through a locked door or two. I haven't even gone grey yet." _Unlike you_, he didn't say, but his pointed smirk said it for him.

Sakura glanced back and forth between Law and Smoker, confused. If the break-in itself didn't set him off, the student council president definitely should have reacted to Law's taunts. And it wasn't that she wanted Law to be beat up - because quite honestly, there was no way Law could possibly win a physical fight against Smoker, of all people; the third year was twice his size and spent most of his time chasing around delinquents, whereas Law was shaped like a whip and led a much more sedentary lifestyle - but kaichō wasn't exactly known for his patience with insults and rule breakers, so it was more than shocking that Smoker was just standing there and taking it.

Did they know each other? Law had attended the Enies Lobby sector as well so there was a large chance that they had met before... but not once during her first year here had she seen the two of them exchanging so much as a word.

Stranger indeed was the way Vivi watched Law with wide eyes. Sakura could see the second year representative's clasped hands trembling from the corner of her eye. The rosette frowned. Law was being rather scary right now, that was true, but he wasn't _that_ frightening, especially not to someone who wasn't the subject of his wrath.

"But what brings you here, Trafalgar?" Smoker repeated impatiently.

The university student stood languidly, a lazy glare directed over Smoker's shoulder and straight at her. "A certain someone has done something she really shouldn't have."

Sakura laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck.

Smoker grunted and turned away. "This has no relation to me. Let's go, Vivi."

The smoky haired man turned and began walking back into the meeting room, gesturing towards Vivi. Sakura watched him, surprised. He really was going to go, without even giving Law a warning? The medical student had broken at least six visitation rules just now. She liked to think that she knew kaichō pretty well, and this was not at all how Smoker would normally act.

But Vivi seemed even more shocked. "Kaichō, you're going to leave Sakura-chan with that - "

"Vivi."

"But!"

"Sakura, come," Law cut in, something with the texture of broken glass in his careless drawl.

"Mou," the rosette whined, tugging a little at the ends of her blouse sleeves. "You don't have to get that mad."

Nonetheless, she knew resisting at this point would just make it more bothersome for her, so she hooked her hands behind her back and easily made her way to where Law stood. He reached out and playfully tugged a braid as she approached him - _ah, so he wasn't that mad after all_ \- and Sakura grinned up at the tall university student. "Had a good day?"

He let out an amused huff of air. "Cheeky brat. Let's go. You're gonna need your gym clothes for this."

* * *

"Smoker-kaichō! Why aren't you doing anything? If you won't, then I..."

Smoker interrupted her before she could turn back and follow the pair that was just now leaving through the other exit. "Vivi."

"Y-yes?"

"You transferred in from the Paradise sector at the beginning of this year, is that right?"

"That's correct."

"No wonder," Smoker sighed. His hand itched towards his cigars, hidden in his trouser pockets, but he resisted the urge to settle two between his teeth. "You know Trafalgar Law as the infamous pirate, the Surgeon of Death, I assume."

"Of course! He and the other supernova are infamous all throughout the underworld of Sekai-fu - maybe the entire country! Even I heard of the Surgeon of Death while attending the Rakuen sector, and the only pirates I'm friends with are Luffy and the rest."

Smoker twitched at the mention of the Strawhat Pirates but left that topic untouched. "Except Sakura only knows him as her childhood friend Law."

"Childhood friends? Sakura and Trafalgar Law are? Wait, and she still doesn't know...?"

"That's right. She doesn't know that Trafalgar is a pirate. In fact, she barely knows anything about what happens in the shadows of the city, and unless you want the Surgeon of Death to hack everything you love into pieces, I recommend you do nothing to change that."

Vivi shivered.

* * *

"So?" Sakura nudged Law on the arm, beaming eagerly up at him. "How was it? Was I right? Did I help?"

"Not at all," he said, dropping a hand on her head and looking down at her patronizingly. "Are you sure you're an honours student? I had to fix so many errors I might as well have just done it myself in the first place."

Her grin didn't budge an inch. "You're lying. There weren't any errors, were there?"

"Not one," he replied easily. "How could you tell?"

"If I'd made a mistake in something like that, my cruel and unusual punishment would be taking place in the library instead of the park." She gestured in a wide, sweeping motion at the colourful flowers blooming in gardens on either side of their cobbled path, at the copse of blooming cherry blossom trees beyond that, at the top of the gargantuan fountain that was the centerpiece of Water Seven Park. The geometry of Water Seven-ku was unlike any other in Grand Line Metropolis: as close to the sea as it was, its streets were partially submerged in water, particularly during monsoon season. This made it impossible for normal cars to traverse, instead necessitating the use of motorized amphibious vehicles, the many varieties of which were referred to under the umbrella term of 'Bulls'.

Another peculiarity of Water Seven was that it was rife with skilled artisans, architects and metalworkers and carpenters and blacksmiths and shipbuilders working both privately and under the government. So it was only a matter of course that the community had stepped forth to mold their own park into something extraordinary. Water being the most plentiful commodity here, it was used often, and well. Clear, sparkling liquid shot up high from the Galley-La Fountain, enough so that she could see it well over the dense line of leaves and pink sakura blossoms up ahead.

The thick streams spiraled prettily in their descent to minimize splashing; most would fall down to the flat receptacle below, where there were always at least a few children roughhousing. The rest would enter miniature canals that led to the seven water parks ('Docks') spaced equally along the perimeter of the park. These canals served not only an aesthetic purpose, but also made it impossible to get lost in this park, despite the sheer size of the place.

Everything in Water Seven Park was always well lit, bright colours decorating the water even at night, and Sakura had heard that it was powered by hydroelectricity generated from the fountain itself. The landmark was a work of art in so many ways she could barely comprehend it; the mastermind behind it, a shipwright and architect named Tom, was an utter genius.

But as Galley-La Fountain bloomed into sight in all its glory, Sakura realised something else.

The novelty of the ward made it a particularly popular tourist location and student hangout, particularly during hanami season - which it was now. This meant there would be an assuredly large crowd collected around the fountain that Law was smirking at. And that meant there would be a great big audience for her humiliation.

_Well, shit._

* * *

"How long has it been since you last attended gymnastics lessons?" Law asked offhandedly as she approached his seat. He took a bite of his sakuramochi and swirled the iced coffee in his other hand, admiring the blooming cherry blossoms on branches high above. The book open on his lap was nearly finished. "Nineteen," he announced as she passed him by.

"Like you don't know," Sakura gritted out, just beginning her twentieth lap around the wide base of the fountain. The rosette's face was a far more violent pink than the petals of her namesake that littered the ground. Her arms trembled with strain, her spine ached terribly, and her temples throbbed a continuous, agonizing beat. Through a curtain of hair, she spotted a group of junior high schoolers staring at her and whispering amongst themselves.

This was torture of the worst sort, she decided. Plus it was embarrassing as hell.

"It doesn't hurt to double check," he claimed, even though they both knew he was just forcing her to expend more energy in speaking. Ignoring him would make things worse for her, after all. "Two years is quite a while. I'm surprised you can still do this for so long."

"Not like I have a choice," she managed to snark before she was too far for conversation.

Her wrists would be killing her after this, and her palms must be red and rubbed raw by now. Every single muscle in her arms was shaking so badly that she was surprised she hadn't fallen over yet.

Except she couldn't. Every time she fell over or paused added another lap. If she couldn't finish twenty laps by the time he finished his book, that was another five go 'rounds of the fountain.

She was almost done anyway, and then this torture would be over. Walking what felt like five miles on your hands was _not_ fun.

"Haruno."

Sakura's muscles locked at the familiar voice, but she managed to keep forcing one hand in front of the other.

A pair of sleek black shoes entered her line of sight.

She'd totally forgotten; a majority of the woodworking club lived near here, as did many of the disciplinary committee members. Including...

Sakura lifted her gaze up long, slim black slacks, a soft navy shirt, loose sleeves pushed up muscled forearms, a deep v-neck revealing sculpted collarbones, black waves spilling over broad shoulders, and, finally, an angular face staring down at her with an arched brow raised.

"Rob Lucci-senpai?!"

"What are you doing." It was a question, but one really wouldn't be able to tell from the lack of inflection.

"A-ah," she wheezed, shock and exertion stealing the breath from her lungs. Not fear, surprisingly. Out of his uniform, Rob-senpai didn't have such a stern air about him. "I'm being... scolded."

The disciplinary committee head hummed lowly and looked away to the cherry blossoms in what seemed to be disinterest, his left hand sliding into his trouser pockets. Sakura dropped her head, the muscles of her neck too exhausted to continue looking up at him. Rob Lucci wasn't exactly verbose, so she deemed that as a sign that the conversation over.

"What did you do?"

It was only because she was trying to conserve energy that her head didn't snap up in shock.

"I, uhm, I drugged my friend so he would get some rest," she mumbled out. Maintaining a handstand for over two hours wasn't how she'd prefer spending her afternoon - it was just that sort of weather that she loved, warm and breezy with only a few wispy clouds decorating the intensely blue sky, perfect for a day out - but even with sweat dripping into her eyes, she still thought, "It was worth it though."

"Is that so," Rob Lucci murmured. There was a whisper of cloth against cloth and then the slithering rasp of pages being turned. He was reading, Sakura noted. Reading and still walking beside her, his steps slow and leisurely - quite unlike his usual powerful strides.

With a start, she realized that he was purposely keeping pace with her.

"So, Rob-senpai - "

"Lucci is fine," he cut in smoothly.

It looked like today would just be a day rife with confusion for Sakura.

"Uh, then, Sakura is fine for me too. But, L-Lucci-senpai, why are you here?" It was a perfectly normal question, but somehow the use of the the third year's given name, and the fact that it was this third year in particular, made her feel like she was prying into his personal life.

"I came to see the sakura," he answered.

"Ah... it is hanami season... after all," Sakura agreed laboriously.

"Hmm."

If her hands hadn't been already occupied, she would have rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, or fiddled with her hair, or picked at her nails. It was the first time she'd seen the enigmatic senior so approachable, and she suddenly had so many questions. Was he alone? Did he always come to see the cherry blossoms during hanami? Why was he so violent to rule breakers? Why did he only smile when he made people bleed? How had he become so strong? Why had he let her through the gates this morning? What was he reading? Why was he still walking next to her? As it was, she just chewed on the inside of her cheek and focused on completing the lap as quickly as she could.

Law had always said she was too curious for her own good. Dead cats and all that. It was strange enough that she had had a casual conversation with Rob Lucci while upside down (_so embarrassing_), she was pretty sure she had her fill of strange occurrences for the day.

Sakura lifted her head to gauge the remaining distance and saw Law only a few feet away. Oh good, she was nearly done now. She staggered forward for the last foot or so and collapsed heels over head on the ground in front of where Law sat. She grinned up at him, panting.

"Twenty," he said, lifting his iced coffee to his lips and smiling smugly back at the wheezing girl at his feet. "Ara, but what shall we do? I've already finished my book - "

"Trafalgar Law."

Nothing about Law underwent any sort of visible change, but Sakura could still see an icy calm curtaining his eyes as he looked up and locked gazes.

Sakura slowly scraped herself into a sitting position so she could see what was happening. Rob Lucci was standing a few feet away, the book she was sure he had been holding nowhere to be seen. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his posture stiff and inflexible.

"Rob Lucci." Law rose to his feet as well, and for a moment, the two just stood there glaring cooly at each other.

What was with all the male posturing today?

Seeing as neither of them seemed in any hurry to break the silence, Sakura chirped a, "So you two know each other or something? From school?"

"You could say that," Law told her, glancing sidelong at her. Lucci-senpai followed his gaze and minutely tilted his head forward as a sort of affirmation. Sakura fidgeted under the intense gazes of the two men, rubbing the gooseflesh that suddenly erupted on her bare legs. She suddenly wished she'd brought her track pants too, and not just the school issued spandex gym shorts. The rest of her proper uniform was in her bag, but it wasn't like she could just change out in the open.

Both pairs of dark eyes simultaneously snapped to her stomach when the tense air was interrupted by a growling noise.

_Will the humiliation never cease?!_

Sakura steadily turned redder and redder as the seconds passed. A wide, amused smirk slowly curved Law's mouth until he finally asked, "Hungry?"

She buried her face in her hands and hung her head. "Shut up."

But then she peeked up through her fingers and the strands of her hair that had come undone and saw that Lucci-senpai was almost-smiling, a little wisp of a thing that was just as much there as it was not there. Under the cover of her palms, her lips fell open. She became dimly aware of a sort of panicked fluttering in her stomach that had nothing to do with hunger.

Mesmerized, Sakura decided then and there that Rob Lucci was possibly one of the most beautiful men alive.

But Law's voice quickly broke through her haze. "Sakura," he called, his voice devoid of emotion again. "We're going."

Bewildered by her sudden attraction to someone she'd always found terrifying, when a tanned, tattooed hand appeared directly in front of her, it was only years of habit that had Sakura automatically reaching out and threading her fingers through Law's.

She rubbed her cheeks with her other hand in an attempt to dispel the lingering blush. "I thought you'd finished your book?"

"I'm feeling generous today," he told her, cold eyes watching something over her head.

"Then, can we have anmitsu?" she prodded cautiously, momentarily forgetting about Lucci-senpai. Law glanced down at her and smiled.

"Sure."

_Shannaro!_

Sakura gripped Law's hand more firmly and beamed. "Bye Lucci-senpai!" she called, turning back to the third year and waving.

Rob Lucci nodded at her. "Goodbye... Sakura."

As soon as she and Law went out of earshot, Sakura shivered. The way her name curled off that man's tongue should have been illegal.

"'Lucci' and 'Sakura', hmm?" Law murmured beside her. "Since when have you two been that close?"

"Since, uh," a mild frown crinkled her brows. "Five minutes ago?"

A pair of fine brows rose. "Really, now."

"Yup! But anyway, that's not important. You know what's important? Anmitsu!" she cheered, punching the air. "Owww, my arms, ow, ow, ow..."

Law rolled his eyes and laughed.

* * *

**AN**

So it looks like there will be a bit of a continuation, hmm?

*These are all different types of corpses.

suishisha: person who died by drowning

toushisha: person who died by freezing

shibito: dead person/corpse

I'm basing the jurisdiction/administration of Grand Line off of those in Japan (prefectures, wards, metropolis(es), etc). So the Grand Line Metropolis (-to) is divided into subdivisions of wards (-ku), rather than just being a city (-shi). However, I did make a change in that the metropolis is part of a larger prefecture (-fu), along with several other districts (-gun), instead of just its own entity. Each district is then further split into towns (-chō or -machi) and villages (-son or -mura). Japan is pretty darn complicated, but it serves my needs for incorporating all the separate islands in One Piece. c:


	3. Chapter 3

Trafalgar Law stepped off the bullet train, his feet driving him forward to his destination. Sakura trailed behind him, her head swiveling this way and that. This was the first time she'd been to this particular ward, and she was more than intrigued by the bright colors and vibrant store fronts. Usually she went right past Sabaody Station, preferring to get off at New World University, the stop right after this one, to see Law during his breaks. She'd never really gotten the chance to explore Sabaody-ku... Sakura quickly decided it was of the utmost importance that she resolve that issue from this moment on.

When Law finally stopped, the pair stood in front of a lively little café with large bow windows and a heavy front door made of pale, striated wood. A dark blue windmill-like motif with a single tangerine drooping from the topmost curl stretched laminated across the door, and _Belle-mère's Tangerine Grove_ was sprawled in large, looping white font across the jutting storefront sign.

All in all, it looked like the cozy kind of place Sakura would love, but Law would not. It was curious that he even knew of the place, to be honest, but nevertheless the university student pushed open the door with a sure hand and Sakura followed at his heels eagerly.

"Welcome to Belle-mère's Tangerines," a cheerful voice called. "Please seat yourselves, I'll be with you in a second!" Sakura's eyes focused on a pretty orange haired girl behind the counter of the espresso bar, wearing a slim orange T-shirt and a short jean skirt. In a considerably less enthusiastic voice, the same girl snapped, "Oi Luffy, those aren't for you. No, don't eat them! Sanji-kun!"

Sakura allowed Law to lead her to a booth as she stared transfixed at the ruckus beyond the counter. A blond male around her age in dark jeans and a tousled blue button-up stomped out from the large doorway to the kitchen, yelling, "Luffy, hands off the customer's order!" and brandishing a whisk. Powdery patches of what looked like flour or confectioner's sugar was speckled on his bared forearms and his clothes and on the tip of his nose, making it obvious that he was the pâtissier for this small café, at least for the moment.

In the midst of that chaos was the grinning perpetrator, a skinny boy with unruly black hair, a straw hat hanging from his throat by twine, and an ear to ear grin, gleeful and vibrant (_like the sun_, thought Sakura). "But it smells so gooood," he laughed. "And I'm hungry!"

While the other two had changed into casual dress, this boy still wore his uniform for school - the one for the Rakuen sector of Grand Line Senior Academy.

She observed the crinkled white dress shirt halfheartedly buttoned up over a red tee shirt, the dark baggy sweater over that, all sleeves pushed to the elbows, black slacks rolled up to the knees, and fraying thong sandals in place of the black leather shoes that were supposed to be worn. The steel gray tie had been loosened to accommodate the wide open collar and tossed haphazardly over a shoulder. Two black stripes near the tip - he was a second year, same as her. If there was a uniform regulation he wasn't breaking, short of outright not wearing the school issue clothes, she couldn't think of any, but the way he did it was just so - Cheerful? Earnest? Free?

Sakura didn't know if there was a word to describe it, but she kind of found him adorable. Like a young puppy, mischievous and undisciplined, but also playful and endearing and entirely harmless.

"You already had four steaks, you shitty black hole," the blond scolded. His voice suited his role, low and smooth and barely sweet, like unsweetened chocolate. "Don't disturb Nami-san's business." Spotting 'Luffy's hand sneakily reaching behind his back to the loaded plate, the tall blond rolled his eyes and bodily lifted the shorter boy by the scruff of his sweater with one hand. "Oi, shitty marimo," he called, 'Luffy' dangling from his hand like an errant kitten. "Catch."

Sakura's eyes, already wide from the nonchalant display of strength, went even wider as Luffy was thrown clear over the high marbled counter and to a nearby table where two vastly different people sat, slumped across from each other. One of them was a lean boy with caramel coloured skin and curly brown hair, brown trousers and orange suspenders over a black muscle shirt, and a very long, very distinct nose. The other was a male in a white short-sleeved shirt and black jeans, his green hair cropped close and thick cords of muscle readily apparent even through his clothes. Those same muscles flexed as the guy lifted one arm high and snatched Luffy midair by the front of his sweater. "What was that, ero-cook?" he grumbled.

"Whooo!" Luffy cheered, flailing both fists. "That was so fun! Can we do that again?" Impressively, the arm holding him up didn't even sway from his wild movements.

"_No_," the both of them snapped, glaring at each other. Luffy pouted and, still swinging in the air, glanced around the restaurant. He caught her eye almost straight away and beamed at her.

She didn't resist the respondent smile curving her lips, because, well, how could she?

"I didn't think Mugiwara himself would be here today," she heard Law say lowly.

Sakura broke eye contact with the boy and turned to her scowling friend. "What?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with," he told her, except of course that only made her even more curious. But their meager conversation was broken by a boisterous, "Tora-o!" from the direction of the espresso bar before she could pry.

Looking caught between annoyance and resignation, Law immediately rose to his feet and stalked over to the motley group by the display cases. No matter how she strained her ears, his voice refused to carry as he spoke to them. She had no clue what they were talking about, but from the few glances that were shot her way, she was left with the notion that _she_ was the topic of interest; it irked her, severely.

Her brow rose when an irritated Law took the cute brunet by the shoulder and pulled him to a far corner of the café, ignoring the younger boy's animated gesturing as he spoke with a stern set to his mouth. Sakura had no time to attempt to read Law's lips before the orange haired girl stepped in front of her.

"Hello," she said, her voice friendly. "Are you ready to make your order?"

"Hmm?" Sakura absently replied, her eyes refocusing on the other girl. "Ah, yeah, could I get a mikan mitsumame with an orange smoothie?"

"Of course!" The girl tapped a few things on the phone in her hand, and a cheerful chime sounded through the open doors of the kitchen. The blond cook still lingering near the counter shot Sakura a strangely considering look before he strode back to his work.

The orange haired waitress was still standing in front of her table, staring at her with a glimmer of curiosity. "So... how do you know Torao-kun?"

Sakura would have loved to know how Law had been saddled with being called 'tiger guy' - it was a seriously cute little pun. But a bit of information gathering of her own wouldn't go amiss.

"Hmm," she replied, giving the girl a playful look. "You first."

The girl laughed, her posture relaxing as she leaned on the table with a hand and her hip. "The rest of us met Toroa-kun 'cause of Luffy - that's the one he's talking to right now. He really helped Luffy out, you know, and..." Hazel eyes flickered down to the dark brown tabletop before meeting hers again. A huff of a laugh escaped her pink lips. "I guess you could say we're indebted to him. Not that the stubborn guy will acknowledge it."

That answered... not much, really. It was too vague, skimping heavily on the details of everything. But it was the baring of a barely scabbed wound to a complete stranger, and somehow, Sakura could see the inkling of something much more hiding between the lines. "You're a good friend," she told the girl warmly, emerald steadily meeting hazel.

She was given a quick flash of an open smile. "Thanks." And then the moment was gone as the girl visibly rebuilt herself before Sakura's eyes, twinkling mischief replacing the brief vulnerability. "Your turn! How do _you_ know Torao-kun?"

"I've known him since I was six. We were neighbors and our parents knew each other, so we really had no choice but to spend time together," Sakura told her with a chuckle. "You could almost say I don't know life without him."

It was said jokingly, but it was painfully true. She didn't know how she could possibly have survived without Law to silently encourage her to keep going, to push her forward when she was incapable of walking on her own, to hold her as she sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. _Back then_, he hadn't shed a tear, even though he was the one in the most pain, and so she had cried for her, for him, enough for the both of them.

They only had each other now, and she would never, ever, let anything ruin that.

The orange haired girl's mouth popped open a little, and Sakura wasn't sure if it was because of the notion of Law as a child, the mention of Law having something so normal as 'parents', or the fact that she had managed to handle the guy for a decade with no major repercussions towards her psyche. She'd heard them all before from those who somehow knew Law by name or in person, questions posed directly or muttered under breaths or blazing in eyes.

It was Sakura's turn to be surprised when the girl smiled softly once more. "You're really fond of Trafalgar-kun, aren't you?"

The rosette's gaze slid past the girl as she spotted the man in question in the far corner of the café. Law's arms were crossed and he was leaning against a wall as he observed the two of them talking. His own conversation was clearly over, but he made no move to return to their table. The boy - Luffy - sat in a chair beside him watching them with a remarkably sharp gaze, but she gave the brunet barely any thought as she threw Law an affectionate grin.

"Of course! He's - he's _Law_."

The girl just looked at her, but Sakura knew she understood.

* * *

She soon learned that the interesting group of friends were all second years who attended the Paradise sector. The stoic guy with close cropped green hair was Zoro, and the funny one with the long nose was Usopp. The chef, as it turned out, was exceedingly flirtatious, and her face must have gone red a dozen or so times over the course of a single conversation. He was called Sanji, he'd proclaimed, with an offering of a blooming rose along with her meal.

She'd been properly introduced to Luffy, who'd immediately slung an arm over her shoulder and told her, "Any nakama of Torao's is my nakama too!" Which had confused her, because, 'nakama'? What? But he was cute and laughing so brightly that she didn't have it in her to point out that his wording was rather strange. The boy was very tactual as well, which didn't bother her at all but seemed to irk Law quite a bit - especially when Luffy seated himself right between the two of them and slung his other arm around the medical student.

And... the girl's name was Nami. She and her elder sister Nojiko were the owners of this cozy, busy little café (this was one of the rare slow days, apparently, even though most of the tables were occupied). Belle-mère's Tangerine Grove was named after their mother, who owned a tangerine farm in Cocoyashi, a small village over in East Blue district. Nami had let her have her meal on the house, "Just this once. But Torao-kun, _you _still have to pay!", which seemed to be a Very Big Thing from the reactions of Sakura's new friends - even one of Law's brows had raised a little. And in truth Sakura would have roped Law into paying for her so Nami was saving him money either way, but the rosette tactfully did not mention this.

Sakura left the parisian style café with many enthusiastic good-byes and promises to definitely come again soon, Law quietly slinking to the door with a few nods and a hand half-raised in farewell.

The moment the door fell shut behind them, she turned to Law with a big smile. "I like your friends!"

He assessed her with his dark eyes for a moment before nodding. "Good. Because you'll be seeing them again."

Despite her best efforts during the entire trip home, he refused to elaborate on this.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning with a dull ache in every muscle whose name she knew, and some that she didn't. Yesterday had mostly been a good day - she'd spent the rest of it lounging in Law's apartment doing her homework and then watching gory thrillers with him - but still, _ow_. She wasn't looking forward to doing anything today.

Including - ugh - school. Maybe she could call off early on student council duties altogether. After Smoker-kaichō's abandonment of her to Law's clutches the previous afternoon, she was more than willing to guilt trip the third year for all he was worth. If she could convince Vivi to do her big-eyed kicked puppy look... Yes, that would work nicely.

Cheered by thoughts of skimping out on paperwork, Sakura bounced to her feet and then took a moment to just groan with pain before shuffling over to her shower.

She washed slowly and mostly just stood under the hot stream of water, allowing the heat to soothe some of her aches and pains. With much reluctance, the rosette pulled herself out and got dressed, before setting out to make herself and Law a simple breakfast of rice, egg rolls, and octopus shaped sausages, packing some of it away for a bento.

Pulling on her shoes with one hand and grabbing the tray and her packed bags with the other, Sakura glanced back.

"Ittekimasu," she told the empty apartment, not expecting and not receiving any response.

Even if it involved carrying more stuff with her weary arms, she regretted not going over to Law's apartment first. She'd forgotten how lonely it was to spend mornings all alone.

* * *

As a matter of fact, Sakura hadn't needed to say anything; Smoker had taken one look at her and told her to go home. It may have been that he'd seen her limping to her classes and taken pity on her. It may have been that he acknowledged that throwing her to the wolves - or worse, to an angry Trafalgar Law - wasn't exactly the kindest thing to do. It may have been that he recognized Sakura would be too busy vindictively whining to him about her aches and pains to get much work done. In any case, Sakura trudged home nearly an hour early, counting every arduous step and cursing Law to the gates of hell and back.

As she made her way through the park near her apartment complex, she laid eyes on a bench and decided a break was well deserved, because that bench sang to her in a way that benches had no right to be singing. Unless it was a singing bench, in which case it had all the right to be singing. Except she was pretty sure it wasn't; the prefectural government wouldn't waste money on something as dumb as that. Right? Right.

Diagnosing her thoughts as pain induced rambling, she sank into the seat with a relieved moan. It was stupidly comfortable for something made entirely of curved iron and hard planks of wood, or perhaps it wasn't so much the addition of comfort as much as it was the reduction of discomfort. Still, every muscle in her body melted at the sudden respite of movement.

Sakura let her head loll heavily onto the high wooden backing.

Closing her eyes for a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

* * *

As he strode down the winding stone path, Killer eyed the splotches of dark red on his shoes with a detached sort of distaste. He considered the probability of it staining on the leather, and while the rusty colouration wouldn't be too obvious on the sleek black, there was still a chance that it would be conspicuous enough for a marine to spot.

There had been a demonstration of this kind of impossibly keen perception in that organization in the past, and it was a far greater hassle to throw off legal allegations than to buy new shoes. Even if the government didn't give two shits about the death of another nameless criminal - and they wouldn't - they would still gladly use any excuse to lock a known pirate into Impel Down. Though this seemed rather like paranoia, he himself had always told Kid that brute force could not be expected to solve everything. Sometimes caution was necessary.

Perhaps that was too ironic, coming from the Massacre Soldier.

However, speaking of caution...

There was a girl sitting on a bench a few feet away from the path he walked, her temple resting on the wooden planks of the backrest, her throat bared in a blatant display of vulnerability, the dip of her clavicle clearly visible. Silken strands of pale pink spilled over the edge of the bench and over her shoulders.

A group of males across the pathway were considering the girl's sleeping form hungrily. They were perhaps his age, perhaps a little older; he recognized them as Baroque Works men from the insignia visible on a few thick biceps.

Killer's smooth strides came to a clean stop as he realized he also recognized the delicate features of this girl, her slim nose, the curve of her mouth, her high forehead, her long lashes, eyes closed now but infinitely expressive in wakefulness.

Haruno Sakura, second year in the Enies Lobby sector of Grand Line.

The thought of interfering had only barely crossed his mind before this moment. The women of Grand Line Metropolis could often take care of themselves, or at least knew better than to bare such weakness in a public place; he was of the party of thought that people were their own responsibility, and what happened to random strangers was none of his business.

However, Haruno Sakura was a different story. She was an innocent in this fucked up world of theirs - an actual innocent, not merely someone who pleaded ignorance in order to fend off danger. According to the girl's words, Killer was the first pirate she had knowingly met, and she hadn't even realized it until he had outright showed her. He knew that both his appearance and his reputation were rather distinctive, unlike that of perhaps Mugiwara or the Surgeon, but she hadn't had even an inkling of who he was, hadn't noticed the bubble of empty space around him in that densely packed train, had invaded it without a second thought.

A girl of her age, attending that school, and to not know the first thing about pirates... someone very powerful was personally taking the effort to shelter her. A fellow Supernova, at the least. Possibly a Shichibukai, or even a Yonko.

That was, of course, excluding the prospect of affiliation with a highly ranked member of the marines, but in his experience, that organization as a whole was rather too dogmatic to remain silent on such matters for sixteen or seventeen years. Besides, though he wasn't certain about the Vice-Admirals, the Admirals - though they were not called as such in polite society - were too public of figures for knowledge of her identity to be so obscure.

In any case, people with power tended to have ways of unearthing information beyond the realms of feasibility. Though they did not always succeed at protecting things, they were devastatingly proficient in swift, lethal retribution. He, himself, could vouch for this with the bloodied scythes strapped to his side.

So it was not impossible for Killer to be targeted for the rest of his life for merely walking past the girl today, for 'allowing' this to happen. Dragging his crew into war with a Supernova would be troublesome, but against a Yonko... even Kid would not last long. That was an unacceptable outcome.

(Of course it would still be nothing to what would happen to those morons who dared lay hands on what was not theirs, but that was neither here nor there.)

Given the options he was presented with, Killer made the only logical decision available to him - he slid off his blazer and continued walking. Having been stationary for less than a moment, nothing about the situation had changed. The group of morons had not yet gone towards the girl and were still limited to leering.

It would remain so.

Killer stepped directly into their line of sight, right in front of the girl, and from the sudden stillness in the air, the Baroque Works workers had recognized him. In a smooth, deliberate motion, Killer turned his head and extended a single arm. He allowed his blazer to slip through his fingers, draping on the girl's shoulder and pooling over her in such a way that the jolly roger normally covered by the lapel became fully visible.

Well aware of the eyes tracking his every movement, Killer dropped his other hand to the holster by his side and unsheathed a sliver of his idiosyncratic weapon. He allowed it to catch the glare of the late afternoon sun, still-wet steel flashing bright in warning.

Killer turned away and continued walking.

* * *

**AN**

Normally I don't describe clothing in such detail, but I kinda wanted to explore putting the Mugiwara crew in normal clothes. And of course Luffy can't be bothered to wear his uniform properly. :3

But this chapter feels so choppy. Too much 'he did this, she did that'. Ugh. ;-;

Just as a reminder:  
\- Prefecture (-fu) [encompasses all]  
\- Districts (-gun) [encompasses towns/villages]  
\- Towns (-chō or -machi) and villages (-son or -mura)  
\- Cities (-shi)  
\- Metropolis (-to) [encompasses wards]  
\- Wards (-ku)

Actually, I was going to make this longer, but I wasn't sure whether to use Smoker or Luffy for the next scene. So, next chapter… Smoker or Luffy? You decide.


End file.
